The Qingdao International Beer Festival draws tourists and locals with a range of beers and snacks from different countries and a variety of entertainments. The annual event, with the slogan "Qingdao ganbei (toasts) with the world", has become a symbol of the city. [Photo by QI XIULI/FOR CHINA DAILY]

With a bevy of brews on tap at this year's Qingdao International Beer Festival, organizers have gone all out to bring a visual feast to the party, too, Li Yingxue and Xie Chuanjiao report.

Drinking beer and eating clams has long been a way of life for people in the coastal city of Qingdao, and now tourists can pull up a seat and join the locals in celebrating the tradition.

The 28th Qingdao International Beer Festival kicked off on July 20 and will run for a record 38 days at multiple venues across the port city in East China's Shandong province.

And since Qingdao played host to the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit on June 9 and 10, this year's festival will feature a wide range of beers and artists from SCO countries.

At the festival venue in the Xihai'an (West Coast) New Area that stretches across 800,000 square meters in the city's Huangdao district, more than 200 beer brands from over 30 countries are available for thirsty visitors to sample.

Ten revelry tents and three leisure tents have been set up to keep tourists and locals fed and their thirst quenched with a mind-boggling array of beers and snacks.

The leisure tents take on a new form this year, offering a blend of light music and fine dining.